Didio gets win No. 100 as Oneida tops Camden

CAMDEN -- Trailing by a point after a see-saw first half that saw three ties and 10 lead changes, visiting Oneida turned up the pressure and dominated the second half rolling to a 71-47 victory over Camden's boys basketball team Friday night.

The win was the 100th for Oneida coach Jeff Didio. He is now 100-100 in his 10th season.

"It's all about the players. I've had a lot of good players over the years," said Didio. "I've had a lot of support from their parents and families also."

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The Blue Devils kept the game close in the first half behind their standout guard Ryan McCarthy. Camden led most of the opening period until a Lucas Durant 3-pointer gave Oneida its first lead of the game, 13-12, at the 1:20 mark of the first. Oneida held the lead the rest of the quarter.

The teams traded baskets in the second period with the biggest lead a 21-16 Oneida advantage early before McCarthy and Marc Snow led Camden on an 8-1 run to take a 24-22 lead. Matt Carinci quickly hit a three to regain the lead for Oneida. Carinci paced Oneida in the first half, scoring 12 of his 15 points.

Ryan Jones hit one of two foul shots with 10 seconds left in the second period to give Camden a 29-28 lead going into the locker room.

Whatever adjustments Didio made at halftime worked perfectly as the visitors came out on fire in the third quarter. Oneida used a 13-3 run to open play with Lucas Durant scoring eight points during the run. Durant was the catalyst in the visitors' big second half, scoring 19 of his game-high 25 after intermission.

"We knew we had to pick up the intensity in the second half," Durant said. "Coach also told the seniors it was our last game here and not to let up."

Oneida outscored the hosts 24-7 in the third to take a 52-36 lead and Camden never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Oneida hit 11 3-pointers in the game with Durant getting six of them and Carinci adding four.

Didio's son Brendan played a role in the milestone win.

"We knew he was going for it, but no one talked about it beforehand," BRendan Didio said. "We were pretty superstitious about it."

"Brendan played a great floor game tonight, getting the ball to Durant, Carinci and Peck for open looks, especially in our big second half," said the coach who also hadmore than 100 wins as Oneida's girls coach many years ago.

Durant led all scorers with 25 points while Carinci and Kyle Peck each had 15. Ryan McCarthy led the Blue Devils with 21 and sophomore forward Ryan Jones had a big night with 14 points and 10 rebounds, including six off the offensive glass. The Blue Devils outrebounded Oneida 37-31, including 20 on offense. Marc Snow also finished with a double double for Camden with 10 points and 10 rebounds.